The six planned workshops described below are focused on issues that are most important in meeting the goals of the RCN.

Workshop I:
Opportunities and Challenges of Small Collections


Michigan State University
Marriott Hotel, East Lansing: April 19-20, 2008
Hosted by Alan Prather and organized by the RCN Steering Committee

Smaller collections pose unique challenges and bring special opportunities. These smaller collections often have staffing and funding issues unlike those of larger university or free-standing institutions, and yet they often have significant holdings of important collections that are not represented in larger institutions. They also often have an opportunity to reach out to audiences in smaller communities or students in community colleges that are otherwise unexposed to natural history collections, and yet comprise a significant proportion of the U.S. population. This workshop will explore strategies for small collections to become more effective participants in science and education. This workshop will be hosted in the first year of the RCN so that small collections can become full participants in the RCN at the initiation of activities.

Workshop II:
Enhancing the Interface between Collections and Systematists


Location to be determined; 2008-2009
To be organized by the RCN Steering Committee

This workshop will focus on initiating a dialogue on how research priorities can be better met with enhanced communication and coordination among collections and systematists and to formulate a strategic plan for natural history collections. Several important and widely circulated reports document that the results of taxonomic and systematic research are fundamental to addressing many scientific and societal needs, such as the development of strategies for countering the loss of biodiversity. Natural history collections are the basis for this research and strategies are sorely needed to 1) increase the funding available for infrastructure for collections, 2) ensure that collections are meeting the needs of systematic researchers, and 3) establish a mechanism of ongoing evaluation of the priorities of collections.

Workshop III:
New Research Opportunities Emerging from Integrating Data Across Different Taxonomic Collections


Location to be Determined: 2008-2009
To be hosted by Henry Bart and Meredith Blackwell and organized by the RCN Steering Committee

Natural History Collections—whether university-based or in free standing museums—are managed as separate, taxonomically-delimited units. Collection databases and database networks typically have the same taxonomic organization. This workshop will explore new research opportunities and synergism that can emerge when data are integrated across research collections representing different major groups of organisms. Examples of the kinds of data integration that will be explored include associations among organisms, such as symbionts, parasites and their hosts, plants and herbivores, and environmentally or geographically defined communities (e.g., aquatic organisms, desert biota). The workshop will explore challenges to retrieving data from different kinds of collections, and enabling new search criteria (e.g., association, habitat, geography).

Workshop IV:
Strengthening Connections between the Collections Community and Database Initiatives and Programs


Location to be determined; 2009-2010
To be organized by the RCN Steering Committee and the Natural Science Collections Alliance

Initiatives focused on databasing, database portals, groups working on database standards, web services related to specimen databases, image and character databases, and many other issues surrounding specimen databases are increasingly abundant. This has created an urgent need to bring these groups together to create strong lines of communication between them and the people in charge of NHC and specimen databases. There is already a plethora of database efforts, projects and packages available. Many NHC have made at least some progress in digitizing their holdings but these efforts are often stand-alone, conducted with local or proprietary software, etc., and have minimal connectivity to other such efforts. This workshop will assemble members of the bioinformatics world together with representatives of various aspects of the collections community.

Workshop V:
Developing New Strategies for Integrating Collections
into Education


Location to be announced: 2009-2010
To be organized by the RCN Steering Committee

This workshop will focus on developing new strategies for integrating collections into education and outreach that take advantage of modern technology and integrate current scientific foci. The workshop will develop programs for younger students that can be adapted to a diverse array of institutions and will stimulate interest in science and museums to encourage more students to enter scientific fields. Participants will include educators and administrators from K-12 schools, higher education and community colleges and museums, along with collection managers, students, and researchers.

Workshop VI:
Enhancing the Relationships between Collections
and Stakeholders


Washington, DC: 2010-2011
To be Organized by the RCN Steering Committee and the American Institute of Biological Sciences

Representatives of the natural history collections community will meet with representatives from federal agencies and other national or international programs that are the primary clientele for the information or specimens in NHC, and with representatives from research communities with strong interests in collections data and specimens. The workshop will have four objectives. First, it will provide an opportunity for the NHC user community to learn what collections exist and how and what information can be extracted from collections. Second, it will enable the RCN to learn first-hand about the needs of the community of users of NHC. Third, the RCN will be able to learn of plans for initiatives in informatics and information delivery outside of the collections community, so that NHC can best interface with them and take advantage of any opportunities. Fourth, it will engage interested stakeholders directly in the activities of the RCN.